MODERN  TRAINING  IN 

HORTICULTURE 


WILDER  HALL 


IH£  LltiftHtiY  Ot  THE 

Practical  Education  AUG  1 8 1941 
Practically  Tree  university  or  Illinois 


Massachusetts 
Agricultural  College 

DIVISION  OF  HORTICULTURE 


Practice  in  hybridizing 

COMPRISING  THE  FOLLOWING  DEPARTMENTS; 

POMOLOGY 
FLORICULTURE 
MARKET  GARDENING 
LANDSCAPE  GARDENING 

THE  UbKAKr 


BTnfjevst,  jfDas's'. 
1907 


AUG  1 8 

university  or 


or  the 
941 

LL/NOIS 


General  Statement 


CT^HE  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College , located  in  Amherst, 
offers  unexcelled  opportunities  for  the  study  of  horticulture 
in  all  its  branches,  including  fruit-growing , flower-growing,  market 
gardening,  landscape  gardening,  arboriculture  and  forestry*  These 
subjects  are  given  a commanding  place  in  a strong  four  years9 
college  course,  the  rest  of  the  time  being  given  to  allied  sciences 
and  to  general  culture  subjects.  The  course  is  so  designed  that 
the  student  who  graduates  from  it  is  a broadly  trained  college 
man,  able  to  take  his  place  among  the  educated  men  of  the  world. 
At  the  same  time,  he  is  thoroughly  prepared  for  a useful  profes- 
sion through  which  he  can  serve  the  community  and  earn  a 
livelihood  for  himself. 


Surveying  squad  in  landscape  gardening 


[2 


A lesson  in  tillage , class  in  market  gardening 


Horticultural  Subjects 

THE  subjects  taught  in  the  Division  of  Horticulture  fall 
chiefly  into  four  groups,  namely,  pomology,  floriculture, 
market  gardening  and  landscape  gardening;  but,  as  nearly 
all  these  topics  are  elective,  the  courses  actually  followed 
by  students  vary  greatly.  The  separate  subjects  should  be  con- 
sidered first,  after  which  their  grouping  may  be  best  understood. 

Pomology  or  t^ie  sc^ence  fruits  and  the  art  of  fruit-grow- 

— ing.  This  subject  is  taught  by  Professor  Sears, 

who  devotes  his  entire  time  to  it.  The  topics  are  taken  up  in  the 
following  order : 

i.  The  propagation  of  fruit  trees  of  all  sorts,  by  all  methods, — 
from  seeds,  layers,  cuttings,  buds  and  grafts. 

2.  Pruning,  both  theory  and  practice. 

3.  Planting  and  management  of  orchards,  with  special  reference 
to  the  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone, — the  apple,  pear,  peach,  plum, 
quince,  etc. 

4.  Planting  and  management  of  vineyards. 

5,  Small  fruits  and  their  management,  including  raspberries, 
blackberries,  currants,  gooseberries,  strawberries,  etc. 

6.  Spraying, — how  to  fight  insects  and  fungi, — all  the  technique 
of  machinery,  formulas  and  methods. 

3 I 


7-  Systematic  pomology,  or  the  science  of  fruits.  This  includes 
the  identification,  naming,  classification  and  judging  of  fruits. 

8.  Commercial  pomology,  or  how  to  sell  the  fruit  at  a profit.  A 
careful  study  of  the  organization  of  our  highly  specialized  fruit 

markets  and  the  methods  of 
the  modern  up-to-date  fruit 
trade.  This  is  unquestion- 
ably one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant subjects  for  a fruit 
grower  to  understand. 

Floriculture.  The  aim 

— — — in  these 

courses  is  to  prepare  men, 
both  theoretically  and  prac- 
tically, for  all  lines  of 
greenhouse  work.  The 
principal  topics  taken  up  in  this  course  are : 

1.  Greenhouse  construction,  in  which  all  the  modern  types  of 
greenhouses  and  frames  are  considered,  with  reference  both  to 
principles  of  construction  and  of  adaptation  to  the  various  crops  to 
be  grown. 

2.  Greenhouse  details,  among  which  all  the  various  styles  of 
ventilators,  gutters,  benches,  etc.,  are  studied  and  compared. 

3.  Furnishings  and  equipment,  dealing  with  all  the  apparatus 
necessary  in  running  a greenhouse,  such  as  pots,  fumigators,  hose, 
various  kinds  of  tools,  etc. 

4.  Heating,  involving  all  the  methods  used,  the  value  of  the 
different  systems  under  different  conditions,  the  various  types  of 
boilers,  piping,  grate  surface,  coal,  etc. 

5.  Florists’  crops,  such  as  roses,  violets,  chrysanthemums  and 
carnations,  bedding  plants,  decorative  plants,  are  studied  in  detail, 
with  constant  practice  work  for  students. 

6.  The  florists’  trade,  or  the  business  side  of  floriculture,  discuss- 
ing the  retail  and  wholesale  markets,  commission  and  auction  selling, 
shipping  to  distant  markets,  and  all  that  goes  to  make  a profit  out 
of  this  highly  refined  specialty. 

Frequent  visits  are  made  by  the  class  to  commercial  and  private 


Class  pruning  grape  vines 


[4 


establishments,  giving  the  students  an  opportunity  to  see  how  things 
are  actually  done  under  a variety  of  conditions,  and  offering  abun- 
dant opportunity  to  study  and  criticize  houses,  crops  and  methods. 

Market  Gardening.  This  subject, with  floriculture, doubt- 
less  presents  the  most  refined  and  in- 
tensive types  of  agriculture  known.  Moreover,  these  lines  are  pre- 
cisely the  ones  most  highly  developed  in  Massachusetts,  so  that  here 
we  have  abundant  opportunity  to  study  market  gardening  right  on 
the  ground  where  it  is  to  be  seen  at  its  best.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  College,  between  Amherst  and  Springfield,  easily 
accessible  by  trolley,  is  a splendid  market  gardening  section,  where 
all  the  leading  truck  crops  are  grown  in  great  perfection.  The 
growing  and  marketing  of  garden  crops  has  always  been  a strongly 
developed  business  on  the  College  grounds,  where  a few  acres  of 
excellent  truck  land  are  devoted  to  that  purpose. 

Amidst  these  surroundings,  the  natural  thing  has  been  to  develop 
a course  of  training  especially  strong  in  its  practical  features.  Con- 
stant contact  with  the  actual  work  is  secured  by  two  very  effective 
methods.  The  first  is  through  regular  class  practicums,  or  field  exer- 
cises, as  carefully  planned  and  equipped  as  any  laboratory  exercise 
in  physiological  botany  or  experimental  thremmatology.  The  second 


Students  budding  peach  trees 


is  through  the  employment  of  stu- 
dents (at  \2* lA  cents  an  hour)  in 
the  regular  garden  work. 

In  the  class-room,  a thorough 
course  is  given  in  the  different 
crops,  their  history,  methods  of 
growing  them,  and  in  all  the  theo- 
retical and  practical  problems  in- 
volved in  market  gardening,  such 
as  localities,  labor,  capital,  tools, 
crops,  rotations,  successions,  mar- 
kets, packages,  fertilizers,  insects, 
etc. 


Landscape  Gardening. 


'Running  seed  drills 


Probably  the  most  extensive,  thor- 
ough and  effective  course  in  this 
fascinating  subject  given  any- 
where in  America  is  that  now  con- 
ducted at  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.  It  is  a strictly  tech- 
nical course,  preparing  men  for  regular  profes- 
sional practice  in  all  the  various  lines  of  land- 
scape architecture.  Besides  such  very  important 
subjects  as  drawing,  surveying,  engineering,  bot- 
any, entomology,  arboriculture 
and  horticulture,  there  are  offered 
two  full  years  of  work  along 
lines  of  landscape  gardening  in 
the  strictest  definition.  This 
part  of  the  work  is  developed 
in  the  following  order : 

i.  The  general  theory  of  de- 
sign and  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  the  fine  arts  as  exempli- 
fied in  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening. 

Exercise  in  packing  apples  2.  Reconnoissance  work  and 


surveying,  especially  the  practical  field  methods  of  securing  maps 
by  rapid  methods.  A particularly  fine  equipment  is  kept  for  this 
work,  including  the  latest  models  in  surveying  instruments,  some 
being  of  Professor  Waugh’s  own  design. 

3.  A critical  study  of  some  of  the  best  work  of  leading  land- 
scape architects  in  America  and  Europe. 

4.  The  design  of  grades  in  all  details,  including  original  sur- 
veys, designing  a new  surface,  computing  and  setting  the  engineer’s 
stakes,  computing  cuts  and  fills,  making  models,  estimating  cost,  etc. 

5.  Road  design,  including  location,  profiles,  grades  and 
construction. 

6.  Planting  plans.  How  to  use  trees,  shrubs,  flowers  and  grass 
for  best  effects.  (Many  persons  suppose  this  to  be  the  whole  art  of 
landscape  gardening.)  Detailed  planting  lists  are  made  up,  nursery 
estimates  secured,  and  practical  exercises  in  planting  are  carried  out. 

7.  Design  of  details,  such  as  fountains,  garden  seats,  pavilions, 
bridges,  etc. 

8.  Reports,  estimates  and  contracts. 


Students  in  floriculture  planting  flower  beds 


9.  Lectures  on  the  history  of  landscape  gardening,  on  the  work 
of  leading  landscape  gardeners,  on  the  esthetic  valuation  of  land- 
scape, and  the  broad  relationships  of  the  art. 

Arboriculture  1S  g*ven  ky  Professor  White,  with  special 

— reference  to  landscape  gardening,  but  is  a 

strong  and  valuable  course  in  itself,  being  largely  elected  by  students 
in  general  horticulture  and  floriculture.  It  deals  with  all  the  hardy 
7] 


native  and  exotic  trees  and  shrubs  used  in  ornamental  planting 
their  propagation,  planting  and  care.  Some  attention  is  given  also 
to  hardy  herbaceous  perennials  and  other  materials  used  in  landscape 
work.  As  this  course  is  preceded  by  a half  year’s  work  in  the  prop- 
agation of  plants,  there  is  ample 
opportunity  for  a very  thorough 
study  of  the  subject. 

Forestry  ls  tau£ht  by  Professor 

™ — — F.  Wm.  Rane,  state 

forester  of  Massachusetts.  Up  to 
the  present  time,  only  a few  lectures 
each  year  have  been  given  on  this 
subject;  but  it  is  hoped  that  ar- 
rangements will  soon  be  completed 
for  a full  semester  of  scientific  and 
technical  instruction  in  this  field. 

Plant  Breeding  |s  of  as  much 

— importance 

as  animal  breeding,  but  has  received 
much  less  careful  attention.  One- 
half  year  is  given  to  a thorough  study  of  the  scientific  principles 
involved,  and  to  their  application  in  the  management  of  all  the  crops 
grown  by  the  farmer,  florist  and  gardener.  The  course  includes 
concrete  studies  in  variation,  practice  in  crossing  and  hybridizing, 
etc.  The  leading  modern  theories  of  evolution  are  examined  in 
detail,  making  this  course  of  scientific  as  well  as  practical  value. 

Nursery  Practice. 

This  course,  deals  with  the 
propagation  of  plants  by 
all  reasonable  methods, 
special  attention  being 
given,  however,  to  the 
practice  actually  followed 
in  modern  nursery  work. 


i Students  planting  shrubbery 


f.  m 
\ 

Ufffft 


Nursery  practice 


[8 


Forestry  exercise  in  the  college  woods 

This  subject  precedes  and  naturally  leads  up  to  all  other  work  in 
horticulture.  It  is  given  under  the  management  of  Professor  Sears. 


Drawing  *s  tau§^lt  ky  Mr.  Gracey  in  connection  with  landscape 

gardening.  One  full  year  of  work  covers  free-hand 

drawing,  mechanical  and  map  drawing,  projections  and  perspective, 
the  whole  being  given  with  reference  to  its  applications  in  designing 
and  in  drafting-room  practice.  Well-appointed  drawing  rooms,  an 
excellent  equipment,  and  a well-trained  teacher  make  this  work  in 
drawing  of  incalculable  value  to  those  who  take  it. 


Other  Subjects  ^any  ot^er  subjects  are  taught  in  the 
— — college  outside  of  the  Division  of  Horti- 
culture. These  include  agriculture,  languages,  mathematics,  chem- 
istry, civics,  economics,  etc.  Certain  of  these  departments  of  in- 
struction are  particularly  strong  ; so  that  students  who  wish  to 
specialize  in  agriculture  or  chemistry,  for  instance,  can  find  the  best 
of  opportunities  at  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College. 


9] 


THE  WHOLE  COURSE 

At  this  point,  it  will  be  proper  to  see  how  all  these  subjects  are 
framed  together  to  make  up  the  four-year  course.  For  the  first 
two  years,  the  work  is  nearly  all  required,  and  all  students  follow 
the  same  course.  The  studies  are  substantially  as  follows : 

FRESHMAN  Year,  — English,  French  or  German,  algebra, 
geometry,  trigonometry,  agriculture,  botany,  chemistry. 


‘ Demonstration  of  gasolene  power  sprayer 


SOPHOMORE  Year, — English,  algebra,  French  or  German, 
physics,  surveying,  chemistry,  agriculture,  horticulture,  zoology. 

During  the  junior  and  senior  years,  the  studies  are  largely  elec- 
tive. The  principal  subjects  are  as  follows : 

JUNIOR  Year, — arboriculture,  pomology,  market  gardening, 
landscape  gardening,  agriculture,  botany,  entomology,  chemistry, 
drawing,  mathematics,  zoology,  English,  civics,  economics. 

Senior  year, — pomology,  floriculture,  plant  breeding,  landscape 
gardening,  agriculture,  veterinary,  botany,  entomology,  English, 
chemistry,  engineering,  rural  social  science. 

[ 10 


Those  students  who  wish  to  follow  lines  of  horticulture  or  land- 
scape gardening  begin  their  specialization  with  the  junior  year,  hav- 
ing had  one  semester  of  horticulture  in  the  sophomore  year,  besides 
valuable  preparation  in  botany,  chemistry,  agriculture,  etc.  The 
subjects  recommended  for  students  specializing  in  the  Division  of 
Horticulture  are  the  following,  though  certain  changes  in  particular 
cases  may  be  made  to  advantage  : 


For  those  Specializing  in  Fruit  Growing 


Junior  Year 

Pomology 

Chemistry 

Entomology 

Botany 

Market  gardening 
Agriculture 


Senior  Year 

Pomology 
Plant  breeding 
Entomology 
Botany,  or 
Chemistry 


For  those  Specializing  in  Floriculture 


Junior  Year 

Arboricultu  re 

Chemistry 

Botany 

Entomology 

Market  gardening 

Landscape  gardening 

For  those  Specializing 

Junior  Year 

Market  gardening 

Botany 

Entomology 

Chemistry 

Agriculture 


For  those  Specializing  i 

Junior  Year 

Landscape  gardening 

Arboriculture 

Drawing 

Entomology 

Botany 

Forestry 


Senior  Year 

Floriculture 
Plant  breeding 
Botany 

Entomology,  or 
Chemistry 


} Market  Gardening 

Senior  Year 

Market  gardening 
Plant  breeding 
Entomology 
Botany,  or 
Chemistry,  or 
Pomology 

Landscape  Gardening 

Senior  Year 

Landscape  gardening 
Engineering 
Floriculture 
Entomology,  or 
Botany 


EXPERIMENT  WORK 

The  Division  of  Horticulture  has  a fully  organized  experiment 
department,  in  charge  of  Mr.  C.  S.  Pomeroy.  Experiments  are 

under  way  in  many  lines, 
such  as  propagation  of 
fruit  trees,  pruning,  mar- 
ket garden  crops,  dwarf 
fruit  trees,  plant  breed- 
ing, the  use  of  enzyms 
in  germination  of  seeds, 
thermo-physiological  con- 
stants, etc.,  etc.  Certain 
of  these  experiments  are 
of  great  interest  and  value 
to  students  in  horticul- 
tural lines.  Graduate  stu- 
dents, in  particular,  find 
advantage  in  these  ex- 

Planting  out  carnations  perimental  studies. 


EQUIPMENT  AND  PERSONNEL 

The  facilities  for  teaching  horticultural  subjects  to  be  found  in 
the  Division  of  Horticulture,  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College, 
are  unusual,  if  not  unique.  One  hundred  acres  of  very  fertile  land 
are  devoted  to  orchards,  gardens,  nurseries,  forests,  lawns,  arbo- 
retum and  greenhouses.  Practical  businesslike  horticultural  work  of 
many  kinds  is  constantly  going  forward.  The  most  modern  tools 
are  used  and  the  best  methods  exemplified.  Wilder  Hall,  in  which 
most  of  the  classroom  instruction  is  given,  is  a new  modern  fire- 
proof building  of  the  best  type,  and  has  been  pronounced,  on  good 
authority,  the  best  building  for  horticultural  purposes  owned  by  any 
college  in  America.  The  landscape  gardening  department  has  a 
very  complete  outfit  of  surveying,  drawing  and  mathematical  instru- 
ments suitable  for  all  kinds  of  work. 

The  Division  of  Horticulture  has  been  organized  with  the 
express  purpose  of  putting  each  line  of  work  into  the  hands  of  a 
specialist.  Instead  of  leaving  all  horticultural  subjects  to  one 

[ 12 


teacher,  as  has  long  been  the  practice  in  this  country,  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College  employs  an  expert  pomologist  of  long 
experience  to  teach  pomology,  another  specialist  for  floriculture, 
an  experienced  market  garden  man  for  market  gardening,  a land- 
scape gardener  for  landscape  gardening,  etc.  This  method  of 
organization  cannot  help  giving  much  better  results.  This  is  the 
way  the  present  organization  is  made  up  : 

Division  of  Horticulture F.  A.  Waugh,  in  Charge 

Pomology  . . Prof.  F.  C.  Sears 

Floriculture Assistant  Prof.  E.  A.  White 

Landscape  gardening Prof.  F.  A.  Waugh 

Market  gardening Instructor  H.  F.  Tompson 

Experiment  Work Assistant  C.  S.  Pomeroy 

Drawing Instructor  F.  M.  Gracey 

Secretary,  Miss  C.  B.  Ball 


OPPORTUNITIES  AHEAD 

Young  men  who  are  thinking  of  college  always  want  to  know 
what  opportunities  will  be  opened  to  them  by  their  college  work. 
It  can  be  said  with  perfect  confidence  that  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 


Handling  carnation  plants  in  the  field 


cultural  College  introduces  its  graduates  to  more  varied  employ- 
ments,  more  useful  careers,  more  immediate  and  certain  self-support, 
than  any  college  of  any  other  kind  to  be  found  anywhere.  This  is 
particularly  true  for  young  men  well  prepared  in  lines  of  horticul- 
ture and  landscape  gardening.  The  college  has  always  been  able  to 
place  every  man  of  merit  in  a reasonably  good  position  almost 
immediately  on  graduation. 

Out  of  77  graduates  from  all  departments  of  the  college  during 
the  last  three  years,  39  have  gone  into  the  general  field  of  horticul- 
ture; which  fact  in  itself  shows  the  large  demand  for  men  in  these 
lines.  The  present  occupation  of  these  men  may  be  roughly  classi- 
fied as  follows : 


Fruit  growing 4 

Market  gardening 1 

Landscape  gardening 10 

Floriculture 3 

Contracting  horticultural  work 7 

Teaching  and  experimental  station  work 12 

On  private  estates 2 


As  nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  those  men  who  work  on  salaries 
receive  an  average  compensation  of  $967  a year.  When  it  is  con- 
sidered that  these  men  are  just  out  of  college,  this  seems  to  be  an 
encouraging  figure. 

The  best  opportunities  are  unquestionably  open  to  those  men 
who  make  a way  to  go  into  business  for  themselves,  either  in  flori- 
culture, market  gardening  or  fruit  growing.  All  these  lines  are 
remarkably  prosperous,  especially  in  New  England.  The  men  who 
are  trained  for  this  sort  of  work  are  bound  to  succeed  in  it.  While 
the  average  gross  returns  from  farming  throughout  the  United 
States  are  only  about  ten  dollars  an  acre  each  year,  the  market  gar- 
deners of  Massachusetts  are  averaging  $200  to  $300,  and  the  best 
ones  are  getting  $1,000  an  acre  a year,  and  more. 

Many  college  graduates  go  into  lines  of  teaching  or  investiga- 
tion. The  colleges  and  experiment  stations  and  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  now  employ  many  thousands  of  men, 
practically  all  of  whom  must  be  graduates  of  agricultural  colleges. 
Salaries  run  from  $600  to  about  $4,000  a year,  beginners  usually 
getting  $600  to  $800  the  first  year. 

[ 14 


Men  trained  in  landscape  gardening  are  in  requisition  for  the 
care  of  private  estates,  for  advanced  work  in  municipal  and  state 
parks,  and  for  practical  work  with  professional  landscape  gardeners. 
Other  men,  who  prefer  to  go  into  speculative  business  on  their  own 
account,  undertake  landscape  gardening  and  horticultural  contract- 
ing. A number  of  our  graduates  are  very  successful  in  these  lines. 
They  prune  trees  or  plant  trees  on  contract,  spray  trees  for  towns 
or  for  private  land  owners,  grade  new 
grounds,  make  roads,  fight  gipsy-moth 
and  brown-tails,  and  perform  many 
other  similar  services  at  a profit  to  them- 
selves and  to  their  clients.  This  field 
offers  practically  unlimited  opportunities 
to  men  who  have  the  taste  and 
training  for  it. 


ADMISSION  TO  THE 
COLLEGE 

Both  men  and  women  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  College  on  equal 
terms.  Candidates  must  be  four- 
teen years  of  age.  Graduates  of 
certain  preparatory  and  high 
schools  are  admitted  by  certificate 
from  their  instructors;  other  can- 
didates enter  on  examination.  For 
practical  purposes,  the  entrance 
requirements  may  be  counted 
equal  to  graduation  from  a good 
high  school. 


Filling  a diseased  tree 


EXPENSES 

There  is  no  tuition.  The  incidental  expenses  for  books  and 
laboratory  fees  amount  to  about  $20  a year.  Each  student  has  to 
have  a military  suit,  costing  $15  to  $20.  Good  board  can  be  had  in 
the  college  dining  hall  or  in  private  families  at  $3.25  to  $4  a week. 


Rooms  may  be  had  in  the  college  dormitories  or  in  private  houses. 
The  entire  cost  to  boys  of  economical  habits  is  $250  to  $350  a year. 

There  are  abundant  opportunities  for  students  to  earn  a part  of 
their  expenses  by  labor  in  the  Division  of  Horticulture  or  in  other 
departments.  Occasionally  a student  pays  almost  his  entire  expenses 
in  this  way;  but  such  a course  is  not  advised. 

POST-GRADUATE  STUDY 

The  Division  of  Horticulture  offers  excellent  opportunities  for 
graduate  students  in  horticultural  subjects.  Those  who  begin  with 
the  Bachelor’s  degree  may  earn  the  degree  of  Master  of  Science  by 
two  years  of  proper  application,  while  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Philosophy  may  be  secured  after  three  years  of  acceptable  work. 

Regular  graduates  of  the  four-year  course  receive  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Science. 

CORRESPONDENCE 

Inquiries  may  be  addressed  to  Kenyon  L.  Butterfield,  President 
of  the  College.  Questions  relating  specifically  to  the  work  in  horti- 
culture and  landscape  gardening  may  be  addressed  to  Professor  F. 
A.  Waugh,  Amherst,  Mass. 


THE  UBKakt  of  I ht 


School  garden  class  on  college  grounds 


AUG  18  1941 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


J.  Horace  McFarland  Company 
Mt.  Pleasant  Press 
Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania. 


